It may be the world’s least likely crossover: Traditional Jewish food, with its roots in the shtetls of Eastern Europe, has suddenly become cool. Chefs are rediscovering hearty staples like chopped liver and matzoh balls—and rebooting them with locavore, artisanal, even fusion twists. In other words, this is not your bubbe’s cooking. From Toronto to Buenos Aires, here are six of our favorite restaurants from around the world where Ashkenazi Jewish dishes get star treatment.

Fat Pasha

Tweeting about “good Jew food” got restaurateur Anthony Rose in hot water when he opened Fat Pasha in Toronto last year. But the hoohah faded when word got out about the kitchen. Killer chopped liver comes rich, deep, and lush. Dense potato latkes get the luxe treatment with salmon caviar, sieved egg, chive, and sour cream. And try to stop noshing on house-made pickles. In the best Jewish tradition, portions are over the top. Fat Pasha’s become such a hit that Rose recently opened Schmaltz Appetizing, a trad Jewish take-away, in an adjacent space.

Russ & Daughters Café

For lovers of Jewish food, New York’s century-old Russ & Daughters ranks somewhere between the Taj Mahal and the White House. So white-tiled sit-down spot

Jago

Ashkenazi influences are subtle at Jago, a highly regarded spot in London's Shoreditch neighborhood, whose inspiration comes from “across the Jewish diaspora.” Though the seasonal menu changes frequently, you might encounter an artisan take on salt beef, the British version of corned beef, amped up with chrain (Yiddish for horseradish). A hipster spin on pickled herring adds cool yogurt and crunchy beets, while fennel salami and cornichons offer a refined riff on deli staples. Jago’s location, in what was historically London’s Jewish quarter, gives its Semitic spin extra meaning.

Mishiguene

A nouveau-Jewish restaurant in Buenos Aires is not as meshuggenah (Yiddish for “crazy”) as it sounds. Argentina has the continent’s biggest Jewish population, and chef Tomas Kalika calls the cuisine at Mishiguene “comida de inmigrantes”—immigrant food. Translation: Organ meats on tahini-hummus foam; hunks of meltingly tender pastrami, prepared sous-vide for 36 hours; delicate potato-and-onion kreplach; and a mind-blowing sous-vide hake gefilte fish, wrapped in gelled carrots over horseradish reduction. In other words, crazy good.

Abe Fisher in Philadelphia

Courtesy Abe Fisher

Aron’s Jewish Delicatessen

Bristol might be the UK’s most creative city, so it’s no surprise this bright “modern Jewish soul food” spot would sprout here. Two-year-old Aron’s uses local ingredients for fresh, faithful versions of Ashkenazi staples. Herring and lox get pickled in-house, brisket is brined on-site, and pickles are made with local cider vinegar. You’ll also find impeccable latkes, matzoh ball soup, and chopped liver. But the real finds are Jewish Hungarian dishes lovingly prepared by co-owners and Budapest natives Marta Aron and Steve Varcoe—try the veal goulash, chicken paprikas, and the Jewish layer cake called flodni, rich with plum jam.

Abe Fisher

You know a revival’s in full swing when a James Beard Award-winning chef takes it on. Michael Solomonov is the brains behind